Frequently Asked Questions

The Telecom Fraud Academy serves as GRAPA’s official training institution for Fraud Certification and initiatives. The certification standards, requirements, and body of knowledge are set and ratified by GRAPA and its membership. The Telecom Fraud Academy, then, creates training programs that meet these requirements. Once new programs or curriculums are approved by GRAPA’s Certification Board, the Telecom Fraud Academy can provide Certification to students upon completion of the training.

What makes the Telecom Fraud Academy training different is that the professional development of our students and ensuring that they reach their fullest potential is at the core of everything we do. Primarily, we have aligned ourselves with the GRAPA standards and certification. This Certification training teaches an approach that prepares the Fraud professional for whatever will be given to them next. We understand that new types of fraud are continually developed and that the top fraud risks to telecoms change often. For this reason, while Telecom Fraud Academy training does cover the fraud protection of the current hot topics (SIMbox Fraud, Customer Frauds, Credit Frauds, Roaming and Interconnect Frauds, etc), the structure is set up so that each of these topics provide an example for how to approach the fraud function, and how to think about and respond to future fraud issues.

In this sense Telecom Fraud Academy trained professionals have an advantage against their non-certified peers, as they will be ready to take the lead in managing future Fraud issues. To this end, we have seen quite a few of our alumni given increased responsibility, department/company recognition, and even promotion after the training.

Many professionals have submitted GRAPA certification training to other organizations (such as those that certify Internal Auditors or Certified Fraud Examiners) and received credit for continuing education, helping them remain in good standing. Additionally, we currently have a group working on making that designation official in the US and other regions.

Many of our students have come from vendors and consulting companies such as Protiviti, Connectiva, Ericsson, and many others.
Telco decision makers are beginning to prefer consultants and vendors who can prove that they are especially well qualified to solve their problems, and many are coming to recognize that GRAPA Certification is one of the easiest and most effective ways to qualify the candidates. With the GRAPA standards being the most widely distributed, read, and implemented revenue assurance standard in the world, GRAPA certification through the Telecom Fraud Academy provides a credential that will prove your credibility and independently verify your knowledge and expertise.

An onsite event has several distinct advantages, and depending on your needs and objectives can also be a very economical training solution. One major benefit is, of course, that you can take advantage of our flat-rate price and invite as many people as you like to the training. Most of the onsite events we conduct include at least the Fraud Management, Finance, Revenue Assurance and Internal Audit teams. Many Internal Audit groups have found it beneficial to invite operational mangers, and network teams to the training as well. This helps everyone to grow more focused on the same priorities.

Furthermore, an onsite event can be customized to relate more specifically to your team and company’s needs. Typically this allows teams to build a more common language and understanding of the issues they face, and fosters team spirit to discover and resolve issues.

Public venue events offer some very distinct advantages to students. The first major benefit is workload balancing. Unlike an onsite event, there is no need to “empty out the office,” so that all can attend at once. Rather you can stagger your team’s attendance at different venues throughout the year. This offers you the most flexibility for your team, as you can schedule around work projects and busy times.
By far the most important benefit, according to many of our prior students, is the interaction with attendees from other carriers. Our instructor encourages discussions during class, and students find it extremely helpful to hear how others are dealing with some of the same issues they are facing themselves.